do you have a great meatloaf recipe?

[Sheryl]

Share your favorites!

[Kit]

I posted this one a couple months ago. DH loves it!

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Italian Meatloaf Recipe

This meatloaf recipe is also called Meatloaf Braccioli because of the way the loaf is rolled. Braccioli means rolled meat in sauce. This meatloaf recipe offers a new twist for braccioli since it is made of ground beef to form a meatloaf. It is truly an enjoyable meal.

Ingredients
• 1 pound ground beef (leaner is better)
• 1 4 ounce can mushrooms (reserve juice)
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 center cut bacon strips
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley *
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano *
• 1/2 teaspoon basil *
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme *
• 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 8 ounce can tomato sauce

*I used 2 1/2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add water to mushroom juice to make 1 cup. Fry bacon until crispy, drain and crumble. Set aside.

Combine beef, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, egg, mushroom juice, garlic powder and salt in a large bowl. Mix well. On wax paper, form meat mixture into a 8x12 inch rectangle.

Sprinkle meat with parsley, oregano, basil, thyme and 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs. Spread bacon, onion, mushrooms and cheese evenly over meat.

Roll meat into an 8 inch wide loaf. Place meatloaf into an 8 inch glass bread pan or glass baking dish.

Bake for 60 minutes. Pour tomato sauce over meatloaf, and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Let meatloaf sit for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

[twoponys]

My mom always threw together the following ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 c dry bread crumbs or 2 slices of bread soaked in 1/3 milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1 tsp of garlic
3 tbsp worschestshire sauce
1 egg
1/4 c ketchup
1/2 c onions

Heat oven to 350F. Mix all ingredients until well blended, pat in to a loaf on a foil covered baking sheet. Bake for about 1 hr.

Depending on your preferences you might play with the salt and spices. I just kind of guess, like my mom.

Jeff is not fond of tomato sauce on the top. I always make a brown gravy. Sometimes I add a tsp of liquid smoke if I have it on hand.

[Deleted]

easy peasy and not the usual tomato based one:

1 lb. ground beef (or we use bison)
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can cream of onion soup
1/2 cup or so of bread crumbs
potatos
baby carrots

Mix about 2/3 of the soup mix packet and about 1/3 of the can in the meat, along with bread crumbs.

Shape in a long loaf in pan.

Nuke taters 'til mostly done. Slice into long wedges and arrange them with carrots around loafed meat wad (LOL!). Sprinkle remaining soup mix on top of meat and veggies. Then spoon remaining cream of onion soup over top of meat and dab over veggies.

Cook at 350 for about an hour.

[Trailpal]

This is how I make meatloaf - I learned it from my mom. This is for 2 loaves.

Preheat oven to 325F
Prepare a pan. I have the kind that's a pan with a perforated tray on top, so the drippings can drain away. I put some water in the bottom so the drippings don't burn and I think the steam helps cook the loaves anyway.

2-3 stalks of celery, small diced
1/2 onion, small diced
Saute in olive oil and add a little salt - cook until translucent and let cool

2# ground beef
1# ground pork sausage
1 egg
about 1/2 cup bread crumbs (Mom used dried bread crusts and sogged them with water, I buy bread crumbs or crush about 3/4's of a tube of saltines)
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste
1 Tablespoon Oregano
1 1/2 Tablespoon Basil
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric

Combine meat, egg, crumbs and seasonings. Add celery / onion and work together. You may need to add more crumbs if it won't hang together.

Divide mixture in half and use your hands to shape each half in to a rounded oblong and set on the prepared pan.

Bake for about an hour and a quarter. Because the density and shape can vary, the cooking time can vary - I use a meat thermometer to check for doneness - pork is done at 170.

The next part is very important! put the loaves onto a plate (or plates) and let them rest at least 10 minutes before cutting. This lets the juices settle so the meat doesn't dry out.

We mostly use them for sandwiches, so after they have mostly cooled, cover with plastic and refrigerate. The next day I use a serrated knife to make sandwich slices and put each loaf in a ziplock bag in the freezer - makes it easy to just take out for sandwiches or an individual dinner. Hint - Meatloaf sandwiches and A-1 sauce! o boy

Variations - put some thick slices of mozzarella cheese in the middle of the loaf before baking. MMM. I have Hungarian friends who put hard boiled eggs in the middle before baking, that's good too.

I've never gotten into the ketchup or tomato sauce on meat loaf. The recipe is not that fussy so don't worry about precise amounts

[Sheryl]

Thanks for the ideas! And hey, I think I have eaten some kind of meatloaf creation with the boiled eggs in the middle- I forgot about that! I should try it - would be a real surprise for the guys.

I made 4 different meatloafs based a conglomeration of recipes, and put them in the freezer. So far, we have eaten one (a recipe I got from all recipe) and it was good!

A tip I heard was to put sliced bread underneath the meatloaf to soak up the fat. Even using lean ground beef, you do tend to get alot of fat cooking out.

[dpt13]

I make mine very close to twoponys recipe, only no garlic and not as much worcestershire sauce, sometimes add A1. But instead of bread crumbs or saltines that others use, I add oatmeal (as in dry Quaker old fashioned oats, not actual oatmeal ) as the filler. We like the taste better.

[Sheryl]

I never follow recipes exactly - but by reading through and trying a few different once I have learned a couple of things:

-bread on the bottom really does soak up the fat. you don't eat the bread, but it winds up being kind of a crisp crust on the bottom
-adding milk keeps it really moist, even if lean beef is used
-letting it rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting was absolutely the right trick to keeping it moist and made for better textured! I also used the meat thermoter for once, and cooked it to 170 - perfect!

I have always made a basic meatloaf with quaker oats, some kind of tomato paste, seasonings and maybe bbq sauce on the top. It is nice to branch out and try some new recipes!

From all recipes:
The Best Meatloaf
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 egg
• 1 dash ground black pepper
• 1 cup soft bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup steak sauce, (e.g. Heinz 57)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, salt, egg, black pepper and bread crumbs. Pour in the milk, 3 tablespoons of the steak sauce, onion and green bell pepper.
3. Place the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and shape into a loaf. Brush the top with the remaining steak sauce.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until done. Allow to stand 5 minutes before slicing.

[wildfire]

Sheryl if you'll form it in the loaf pan, and then turn it out onto, a large, sided tray; the oil will drain out on its own.
GLHR!

[buffy]

How perfect to join this forum today only to run across this thread! I've been planning to make a meatloaf the last few days. I'm going to have to pick a recipe now!

[cowgirlkate]

Try putting shredded cheese in sometime too. Yummy!!

[snaffle]

Snaffle's Meatloaf

I don't know what it is about this particular meatloaf,
but our dogs always show a special interest in it while I am
preparing and baking it. They show this same interest anytime
the leftovers are being used too.

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup soda cracker crumbs
2 beaten eggs
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup milk
dash dried thyme
dash dried margoram
1 tablespoon worchesterchire sauce
sprinkle of poultry seasoning
salt and pepper

Put into a loaf pan and top with a
mixture of 1/4 cup ketchup and
2 tablespoons of brown sugar

Bake @ 350 degrees for 1 1/2 Hours

[Mary Ann]

Good one, Snaffle! That's the one my mom used to make.

[snaffle]

Are you serious?

I tried many recipes trying to find one that tasted good and that my little kiddies would eat.

When I was working in the fields during harvest... my sister in law often made meatloaf for the supper meal.

My kids would beg to ride in the tractor with me on the days they knew she was making this meatloaf.

[Mary Ann]

Yep. I haven't had it made this way in a long time, but I think I need to do it again soon. We loved it when we were kids too. Yum!